There have been a lot of questions asked on these forums about Commute Routes from one location to another, so I thought I'd start a thread where commuters can post their preferred route for their commute. This can then be sort of a catalogue where forum members can search for routes to help them find their way.

To keep it simple and easy to understand, I suggest that all routes be mapped in Bikely or MapMyRide, so that others can easily see where the route is. MapMyRide has the added benefit of being downloadable to any Garmin GPS such as the Edge 305-705 series. Not sure if this can be done from Bikely, but I'm sure someone will tell us if it can.

The format for posting your route should ideally start with your state, seeing as how the Commuting section covers the nation, then state the start/finish locations, It might also be worth noting any hazards, issues, or interesting sights along the route for others to be wary of/looking for.

The only thing concerns me is extended discussion happening about certain commutes. i.e - I think this way is better than that way, or general discussion about commute routes. If it's relevant, post it but try to keep it short. If it's not, start another thread to discuss it. The last thing anyone wants to do is to troll though pages and pages of discussion looking for a certain route.

I'm open for suggestions to make it a better thread, and if enough posts warrant it, I'll make it a sticky.

Only things to watch out for is debris on the M5 shoulder, tight traffic on the Prince's Hwy and Qantas Dr. No really back breaking climbs. Good average speeds on the M5 makes for fast times.[/quote]

Greetings Kev,
Living near hinchinbrook, and working at St Peters, I was looking at a route similar to yours. How do you find the stretch from Hume Hwy, to heatcote rd, regarding the layout of the lanes through that stretch? What time are you usually through there?

The route between The Hume and Heathcote Rd is prety good. Some debris is evident on the bridge that spans the river/railwayline, but other than that it's ok. Oh, that's in a easterly direction by the way. When heading west I opt for the footpath on the bridge as it's usually afternoon peak hour and all the impatient smokebox jockeys are racing to get home for beer and pizza. Four lanes of 100km/h traffic and no breakdown lane makes for a cyclist unfriendly zone.

When riding, I'm usually in that vicinity between 0535 and 0545 hours. The return journey sees me there at anytime really. It depends what time I knock off.

After being the victim of road rage the other day I considered the possibility of using separated cycle-ways for my commute. The result is a commute which is twice as long, and does involve a short distance on a main road. I have explored most parts of this cycleway before, and I know that there will be a couple of hills to climb, but it might be a much more pleasant ride, especially in the mornings.

I might even be able to extend this trip be going down the road to the Station in the mornings (this route seems to give me the least trouble), follow the cycleway along the railway line briefly and then turn left and eventually join up where it meets Polding street north. It's too late to map that one out now. I'll do it another day.

I generally stay off the Pacific Highway on the way in because its three lanes all the way so there are heaps of rat runners. Where I do ride the Highway its heavy traffic so I actually enjoy riding past all the suckers

On the way home the lanes on the Highway vary from 2 to 3 so there is a lot less rat running up the inside. Still, when it narrows to 2 lanes, make sure there are no semi's comming up behind. I just stop and let them through

Here's my inbound commute - NSW - Castle Hill to St LeonardsStraight down Old Northern Rd to Baulkham Hills and onto the M2. Off at Delhi Rd (as far as bicycles are allowed to ride), and onto the shared path from North Ryde to Artarmon. Off at Herbert St and up the hill to my office in St Leonards.

And my outbound commute - NSW - St Leonards to Castle HillCan't ride on the M2 between Lane Cove Rd and Beecroft Rd, so I don't bother with the official detour route. I continue along the shared path past Delhi Rd and turn left onto Ryrie St. Then follow low(ish) traffic streets to join up with the official detour route at Vimiera Rd and continue to Beecroft Rd where I join the M2 shoulder. Lately I've been riding further along Windsor Rd because it's wider and safer than Old Northern Rd which tends up hill from Baulkham HIlls to Castle Hill and isn't the best with my commuter and loaded panniers. Occasional idiot bus drivers don't like it when I have no choice but ride on the roadway for short (always uphill ) sections where there is no shoulder but otherwise a good route. 3 extra km, but it's all about the total in Bike Journal .

This is a mix of road and path, with some relativity narrow road riding from Hillary to Trig. From Trig the route goes shared path through to south of Scarborough. Far more scenic than the Freeway ride, a bit longer and a lot more windy (particularly heading south).

This is my longer commute and is all road when heading north. I also take in Cottesloe for a little bit of scenery. It can get a bit hairy crossing the Old Fremantle Traffic Bridge and heading west along Tydeman Road. Once clear of this area it is good until Trigg and then the road narrows through to Hillarys. It can be ridden more on path if that suits you.

This is a few km's longer than the shortest route, but avoids the worst of morning heavy truck traffic on Liverpool Rd and the Horsley Drive (particularly the hill west of Cowpasture Rd on Horsley Drive, which curves to the left and reduces your visibility to traffic). For the evening east-bound trip, I'm happy to take the downhill section to Cowpasture Rd on the road where you can be more clearly seen and avoided.

WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

docboat wrote:http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Bibra-Lake-to-Perth-CBD for my route. A lovely dawn ride beside the rivers, it feels even better when you can pass the cars stacked up on the freeway. Windy on the return journey. As usual.

Brings back memories

When I studied at UWA in the late 80s and early 90s, I used to cycle from Mt Pleasant to UWA via the freeway bike path. It was generally a quick run to the uni, but sometimes the afternoon headwinds going back were a bit stiff! I loved that path

Another of my favourite rides was the circuit around the north and south banks of the Swan between Fremantle and Perth - sticking to the bike paths when they were available, but otherwise using roads, I think it was around 35-40kms round trip, or something like that. There's even a few hills around Peppermint Grove/Mosman Park to get the heartrate going! Sorry, don't have a map for that one

“Newspapers are unable, seemingly to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilization”- George Bernard Shaw.

ruscook wrote:Cool thread guys, my routes pretty boring compared to some here.. http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Co ... -LiverpoolI do a slightly longer variant on the way home to make it 70km round trip. From once a month, I'm now up to being able to do it twice a week.

Russ

Boring ? There'd be thousands more cyclists commuting to work if it could be done on cycleways as well designed as the M7 cycleway. The only problem is that it encircles Sydney and generally runs across rather than with the main commuter traffic routes. What we need is similar cycling infrastructure into the Parramatta and Sydney CBD's

Can you imagine how many cyclists would commute into the CBD if there was an M7 like cycleway from Blacktown to the Parramatta CBD and on to the Sydney CBD ?, Or from Sutherland to Sydney CBD or similar from Hornsby to Sydney ?

Russ, if your route is boring, please serve it up in spades.

Cheers

WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

ruscook wrote:Cool thread guys, my routes pretty boring compared to some here.. http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Co ... -LiverpoolI do a slightly longer variant on the way home to make it 70km round trip. From once a month, I'm now up to being able to do it twice a week.

Boring ? There'd be thousands more cyclists commuting to work if it could be done on cycleways as well designed as the M7 cycleway. The only problem is that it encircles Sydney and generally runs across rather than with the main commuter traffic routes. What we need is similar cycling infrastructure into the Parramatta and Sydney CBD's

Can you imagine how many cyclists would commute into the CBD if there was an M7 like cycleway from Blacktown to the Parramatta CBD and on to the Sydney CBD ?, Or from Sutherland to Sydney CBD or similar from Hornsby to Sydney ?

I just meant the complexity of the routes others take to avoid traffic, the number of suburbs they go through etc. Make for an interesting ride.

The M7 is good for me, as I stay off the road for 20km of the 33km commute. Using the Transit Way for another 5km means I only have about 8km on shared roads. That's pretty good. When I worked at Camperdown, I rode in a few times on the M4, Marion St, and Parramatta Rd. That was a hard slog (about 40kg heavier than now, and much further, 49k each way, and busier) so I didn't do it often, not just because of the fitness, but the M4 and Parramatta Rd (even in the bus lanes) were just so busy it was scary at times.

I do agree with you point about the M7. It applies to a lot of other cycle routes in Sydney. Seems because they're required on new roads and the developers pay for them, the RTA and local council don't do much at all. So new suburbs will get a cycleway that doesn't connect to anything! Damn frustrating for a commute.

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